Why Was Yusuf Imprisoned Even Though His Innocence Was Known?
لماذا سُجن يوسف رغم معرفة براءته؟
When the wife of Al-Aziz met with the women who had gossiped about her, she publicly declared that her desire had not ended, saying, “And if he does not do what I order him to, he will certainly be imprisoned and fully disgraced.” The verses of the Quran also indicate that the seduction came from the women of the city as well, as Allah said, on Yusuf’s own words, “more beloved to me than what they invite me to.” This is confirmed by the fact that in the Royal Board of Inquiry, the King asked them, “What was your affair when you tried to seduce Yusuf?” using the plural pronoun, and the women of the city did not deny that the attempt had come from them. Facing this collective pressure, Yusuf being sent to prison seemed best to him, because he saw no refuge, after Allah Almighty, from this trial except to go to prison, since the wife of Al-Aziz had announced this threat before the women. The people of standing saw that it was in everyone’s interest that Yusuf be imprisoned, for several reasons: to acquit the women and the wife of Al-Aziz, so that the women would stop pursuing Yusuf, and so that the story of Yusuf would be forgotten, because whenever a rumor spreads, it continues to be remembered, but once its cause is removed, it is forgotten. “Some women of the city gossiped, ‘The Chief Minister’s wife is trying to seduce her slave-boy. Love for him has plagued her heart. Indeed, we see that she is clearly mistaken.’ When she heard about their gossip, she invited them and set a banquet for them. She gave each one a knife, then said to Yusuf, ‘Come out before them.’ When they saw him, they were so stunned by his beauty that they cut their hands, and exclaimed, ‘Good God! This cannot be human; this must be a noble angel!’ She said, ‘This is the one for whose love you criticized me! I did try to seduce him but he firmly refused. And if he does not do what I order him to, he will certainly be imprisoned and fully disgraced.’ Yusuf prayed, ‘My Lord! I would rather be in jail than do what they invite me to. And if You do not turn their cunning away from me, I might yield to them and fall into ignorance.’ So his Lord responded to him, turning their cunning away from him. Surely He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing. And so it occurred to those in charge, despite seeing all the proofs of his innocence, that he should be imprisoned for a while” (Surah Yusuf 12:30-35).
لما اجتمعت امرأة العزيز بالنسوة اللاتي تكلمن فيها، أعلنت على الملأ عدم انتهاء رغبتها في الفاحشة، فقالت: وَلَئِن لَّمْ يَفْعَلْ مَا آمُرُهُ لَيُسْجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُونًا مِّنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ. ومما تشير إليه آيات القرآن أن المراودة حدثت أيضا من نسوة المدينة، فقال الله تعالى على لسان يوسف: أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ. ومما يؤكد تلك الحقيقة أنه في مجلس التحقيق الملكي سألهن الملك: مَا خَطْبُكُنَّ إِذْ رَاوَدتُّنَّ يُوسُفَ عَن نَّفْسِهِ، بضمير الجمع، ولم تنفِ نسوة المدينة حدوث المراودة منهن، فأفاد أن المراودة كانت جماعية. أمام هذه المراودة الجماعية، كان إدخال يوسف إلى السجن لأنه رأى ألا ملجأ له، بعد الله عز وجل، من هذه الفتنة إلا أن يدخل السجن، لأن امرأة العزيز أعلنت ذلك أمام النسوة. رأى علية القوم أن المصلحة في سجن يوسف، وذلك لعدة أسباب: منها تبرئة ساحة النسوة وامرأة العزيز، ومنها أن تهدأ النساء عن ملاحقة ذلك الفتى عليه السلام، ومنها لينقطع بذلك خبر يوسف عليه السلام وينساه الناس، لأن الشيء إذا شاع لم يزل يُذكر، وإنما يشيع مع وجود أسبابه، فإذا عُدمت أسبابه نُسي. وَقَالَ نِسْوَةٌ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ امْرَأَتُ الْعَزِيزِ تُرَاوِدُ فَتَاهَا عَن نَّفْسِهِ ۖ قَدْ شَغَفَهَا حُبًّا ۖ إِنَّا لَنَرَاهَا فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٣٠﴾ فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ بِمَكْرِهِنَّ أَرْسَلَتْ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَعْتَدَتْ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً وَآتَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِّنْهُنَّ سِكِّينًا وَقَالَتِ اخْرُجْ عَلَيْهِنَّ ۖ فَلَمَّا رَأَيْنَهُ أَكْبَرْنَهُ وَقَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ وَقُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّـهِ مَا هَـٰذَا بَشَرًا إِنْ هَـٰذَا إِلَّا مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ ﴿٣١﴾ قَالَتْ فَذَٰلِكُنَّ الَّذِي لُمْتُنَّنِي فِيهِ ۖ وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدتُّهُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ فَاسْتَعْصَمَ ۖ وَلَئِن لَّمْ يَفْعَلْ مَا آمُرُهُ لَيُسْجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُونًا مِّنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ ﴿٣٢﴾ قَالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ ۖ وَإِلَّا تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ ﴿٣٣﴾ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ فَصَرَفَ عَنْهُ كَيْدَهُنَّ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿٣٤﴾ ثُمَّ بَدَا لَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا رَأَوُا الْآيَاتِ لَيَسْجُنُنَّهُ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍ ﴿٣٥﴾ (سورة يوسف: 30-35).
1. A Threat Made Openly, Not in Secret | تهديد أُعلن جهارا لا سرا
Unlike her first attempt, made in private, Al-Aziz’s wife issued her renewed threat of imprisonment publicly, in front of the very women who had criticized her. The Quran indicates that the pressure on Yusuf had by this point become collective rather than coming from one person alone.
على خلاف محاولتها الأولى التي تمت سرا، أطلقت امرأة العزيز تهديدها المتجدد بالسجن علنا، أمام النسوة أنفسهن اللاتي انتقدنها. ويشير القرآن الكريم إلى أن الضغط على يوسف أصبح عند هذه النقطة جماعيا لا صادرا من شخص واحد.
2. Choosing Prison as an Act of Worship | اختيار السجن عبادة
Yusuf’s own prayer, preferring prison to sin, is treated by scholars as one of the Quran’s clearest models of choosing hardship deliberately over comfort gained through wrongdoing. His request that Allah “turn their cunning away” from him rather than simply asking to avoid prison shows his priority was resisting temptation itself, not merely escaping punishment.
يُعامل دعاء يوسف نفسه، بتفضيل السجن على المعصية، كأحد أوضح نماذج القرآن الكريم لاختيار الشدة عمدا على راحة تُنال بالمعصية. ويكشف طلبه أن يصرف الله عنه كيدهن، بدلا من مجرد الدعاء بتجنب السجن، أن أولويته كانت مقاومة الفتنة نفسها، لا مجرد الإفلات من العقوبة.
3. Punished Despite Proof of Innocence | عوقب رغم ثبوت براءته
Surah Yusuf 12:35 states plainly that the decision to imprison Yusuf came “despite seeing all the proofs ˹of his innocence˺,” an explicit admission built into the Quran’s own account that this was never a matter of justice. Ibn Kathir explains that they imprisoned him so that it would seem he was the one who had tried to seduce her, and he cites al-Suddi: so that what she had done would not spread. The imprisonment served the household’s convenience, silencing scandal, rather than any actual finding of guilt; how many years Yusuf then spent in prison is explained separately.
تنص سورة يوسف 12:35 صراحة على أن قرار سجن يوسف جاء “من بعد ما رأوا الآيات”، أي بعد رؤيتهم كل أدلة براءته، وهو اعتراف صريح مُدرج في رواية القرآن الكريم نفسها بأن الأمر لم يكن يوما قضية عدل. وقد بيّن ابن كثير أنهم سجنوه ليوهموا الناس أنه هو الذي راودها عن نفسها، ونقل عن السدي أنهم سجنوه لئلا يشيع ما كان منها في حقه. فالسجن خدم مصلحة البيت بإسكات الفضيحة، لا أي إدانة فعلية بالذنب، وتواصل الأسئلة التالية في هذا القسم الفرعي استكشاف ذلك.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why was Yusuf imprisoned if his innocence was known?
To silence the scandal and stop the women’s collective pursuit of him, not because of any actual guilt.
Did Yusuf resist being imprisoned?
He preferred prison to yielding to temptation; those in authority decided to imprison him despite the proofs of his innocence.
Does the Quran confirm his innocence was already established before he was imprisoned?
Yes, Surah Yusuf 12:35 states the decision was made despite seeing all the proofs of his innocence.